Minami (みなみ; ミナミ; 南, lit. "south") is both a Japanese surname and a feminine Japanese given name.

Possible Writings

As a surname, Minami is most frequently written as 南, meaning "south". Minami (南) is shared by 100,000+ individuals in Japan. The remaining variants are used by less than 2,000 individuals each and are generally used by related families.^[2]

As a given name, Minami may be written as simply "みなみ" and rarely "ミナミ", or it can be written using different kanji characters or a mix of hiragana and kanji to convey different meanings, such as:

People with the surname

• Akina Minami (南 明奈, born 1989), Japanese gravure idol and tarento
• Dale Minami (born 1946), Japanese American lawyer
• Eiko Minami (南 栄子, born 1909), Japanese dancer
• Haruka Minami (みなみ 遥), Japanese manga artist
• Haruo Minami (三波 春夫, 1923–2001), Japanese enka singer
• Hikari Minami (みなみ 飛香, born 1994), Japanese professional wrestler
• Hiroaki Minami (南 弘明, born 1934), Japanese composer
• Jirō Minami (南 次郎, 1874–1955), Japanese general and convicted World War II war criminal
• Kaho Minami (南 果歩, born 1964), Japanese actress
• Katsuyuki Minami (南 克幸, born 1970), Japanese volleyball player
• Kunzo Minami (南 薫造, 1883–1950), Japanese painter
• Moeka Minami (南 萌華, born 1998), Japanese women's footballer
• Omi Minami (南 央美, born 1968), Japanese voice actress, essayist and columnist
• Warren N. Minami (1938-2022), Japanese American, retired senior executive of the IMF, former chair of National Japanese American Memorial Foundation
• Yoshiharu Minami (南 喜陽, born 1951), Japanese judoka
• Yoshikazu Minami (南 芳一, born 1963), Japanese professional shogi player
• Yoshitaka Minami (南 佳孝, born 1950), Japanese musician
• Yuta Minami (南 雄太, born 1979), Japanese footballer

People with the given name

• Minami (actress) (美波, born 1986), Japanese actress
• Minami (singer) (美波, born 1997), Japanese singer
• Minami Ando (安藤 みなみ, born 1997), Japanese table tennis player
• Minami Aoyama (青山 南, born 1985), Japanese pink film actress and AV idol
• Minami Hamabe (浜辺 美波, born 2000), Japanese actress
• Minami Hokuto (北都 南), Japanese voice actress
• Minami Iju (伊集 南, born 1990), Japanese women's basketball player
• Minami Itahashi (板橋 美波, born 2000), Japanese diver
• Minami Kato (加藤 美南, born 1999), Japanese idol, singer and former member of NGT48
• Minami Kuribayashi (栗林 みな実, born 1976), Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
• Minami Minegishi (峯岸 みなみ, born 1992), Japanese idol and member of AKB48 and no3b
• Minami Otomo (大友 みなみ, born 1981), Japanese actress and model
• Minami Ozaki (尾崎 南, born 1968), Japanese manga artist, also known as Ryo Minami (南亮) and Minami Himemuro (姫室ミナミ)
• Minami Sadamasu (貞升 南, born 1986), Japanese professional shogi player
• Minami Takahashi (高橋 みなみ, born 1991), Japanese singer, tarento, and former member of AKB48
• Minami Takayama (高山 みなみ, born 1964), Japanese voice actress, narrator, singer and composer
• Minami Tanaka (田中 美海, born 1996), Japanese voice actress
• Minami Tanaka (announcer) (田中 みな実, born 1986), announcer and tarento
• Minami Yamanouchi (山ノ内 みなみ, born 1992), Japanese long-distance runner

Fictional characters

As a given name

• Minami Amada (天田 南), a character in the manga Jormungand
• Minami Asakura (浅倉 南), a character in the manga Touch
• Minami Hayama (葉山 南), a character in the Japanese television drama Long Vacation
• Minami Iwasaki (岩崎 みなみ), a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Lucky Star
• Minami Kaido (海藤 みなみ), a character in the anime series Go! Princess PreCure
• Minami Katayama (片山 実波), a character in the manga and anime series Wake Up, Girls!
• Minami Kotobuki (寿 みなみ), a character in manga and anime series Oshi no Ko
• Minami Maki (真木 南), a character in the manga Majitora!
• Minami Nanba (難波 南), a character in the manga Hana-Kimi
• Minami Shimada (島田 美波), a character in the light novel series Baka and Test
• Minami Takahashi (高橋 みなみ), a character in the anime series AKB0048
• Minami Toba (鳥羽 美波), a character in the manga series Laid-Back Camp

As a surname

• The Minami (南) sisters (Haruka (春香), Kana (夏奈), and Chiaki (千秋)), characters in the manga series Minami-ke
• Itsuki Minami (南 樹), a character in the anime and manga series Air Gear
• Kaori Minami (南 佳織), a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Battle Royale
• Ken Minami (美波 ケン), a character in the manga Machine Robo Rescue
• Kenjirō Minami (南 健次郎), a character in the anime and manga series Yuri on Ice
• Kohtaro Minami (南 光太郎), a character in the Japanese superhero drama series Kamen Rider Black and Kamen Rider Black RX
• Kotori Minami (南 ことり), a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Love Live! School Idol Project
• Mirei Minami (南 みれぃ), a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Pripara
• Rena Minami (水波 レナ), a character in the anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica
• Shizuku Minami (南 しずく), a character in the manga Sakura Trick
• Youichi Minami (南 陽一), a character in the manga Gokusen
• Yuko Minami (南 夕子), a character in the Japanese superhero drama series Ultraman Ace

References